The present invention relates to elastic garments, and more particularly to therapeutic stockings.
In the recent past, therapeutic stockings have been prescribed on a relatively wide scale to prevent possible embolism in a patient. When a patient is confined to bed, for example, after an operation, the likelihood of thrombus is markedly increased due to a decrease in the velocity of blood flow in the patient's leg during confinement. Therepeutic or anti-embolism stockings cause application of a compressive pressure against the patient's leg which gradually decreases from the ankle toward the upper part of the leg. Such stockings increase the velocity of blood flow in the legs, and minimize the possibility of thromboembolism.
Anti-embolism stockings are made in assorted lengths, including those which terminate above the upper thighs of the patient, often termed thigh length stockings. A special difficulty has been encountered in the use of thigh length stockings for oversized patients, e.g. those patient's having a circumference of greater than 25 inches in the region of the upper thigh. Due to the greatly flared configuration of the upper thighs in the legs of such patients, thigh length stockings have a tendency to roll over at their tops, and then slip down the patient's legs. It is undesirable to make the stockings sufficiently tight to prevent slippage, since the stockings would restrict blood flow through the confined area and would negate the advantages sought by the stocking.
Full length stockings which are supported about the waist are proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,667, incorporated herein by reference. The disclosed stockings also exert a compressive pressure against the wearer's legs with a pressure profile generally decreasing from the ankles to the upper thighs. However, the disclosed stocking is attached about the waist by a pair of bands which renders the placement procedure on a patient unduly complicated. Also, in certain instances it is desirable to utilize only a single stocking for one leg which was not possible with the disclosed stocking.